The Colombian Civil War spanned 54 years and evolved into a maddening mass of poorly directed violence and injustice. This piece was my visual contribution to a musical collaboration between Colombian composers, Dr. Juan Montoya and his former professor, Andrés Posada. It is our attempt to give public voice to the pain of a people long suffering under the weight of deep internal conflicts.
This 12 minute piece was performed live—with film projection—at the Cambridge Music Festival in the UK.
Composers – Andrés Posada and Juan Montoya
Poem – Juan Manuel Roca
Video – MiLo (Michael Longstaff)
Performers
Mezzo – Anita Monserrat
Viola – Andrew Filmer
Cello – Noah Rogoff
Piano – Juan Montoya
My statement—as video artist—regarding the three-way collaboration with Colombian composers Andrés Posada and Dr. Juan Montoya. I recruited my wife, Juliana, to be in the piece, and her pain is personal and palpable: she tragically lost family members to paramilitary violence and was forced to flee her home town.